TORONTO — Canadian diver Maxim Bouchard made a triumphant return from a long injury layoff, winning the gold medal in the men’s 10-metre tower Sunday at the 2015 Winter Senior National Championships.
Bouchard, from St-Constant, Que., opened the final with three spectacular dives to build a big lead and take top spot with 466.80 points. Vincent Riendeau of Pointe-Claire, Que., the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, followed at 421.35 and Philippe Gagne of Montreal was third at 415.30.
Bouchard was cleared to compete at the Winter Nationals a week ago.
"I felt I had to compete at this event," said Bouchard, 24, who has now strung together three Canadian titles in a row. "It was a qualifying meet for several international competitions and chance to meet standards for the world championships and Pan Ams. If I sat this one out it would have been a quiet first half of the year for me."
On women’s three-metre, Jennifer Abel of Laval, Que., totalled 342.55 points with her best dive a reverse three and half pike which garnered marks ranging from 7.5 to 9.5. Hailey Casper of Calgary was second at 309.30 and Frederique Lalonde of Montreal third at 288.30.
Other winners this weekend were for the women Lalonde on one-metre and Meaghan Benfeito of Montreal on 10m and for the men Cam McLean of Winnipeg on one-metre, Jamie Bissett of Ottawa on three-metre, Gagne and Riendeau on 10m synchro and Bouchard and Marc Sabourin-Germain of Mascouche, Que., on three-metre synchro.
The competition served a selection meet for upcoming FINA Grand Prix including the Canada Cup in Gatineau, Que., April 9-12.